‘I feel very on edge’: Phone theft on the rise in London

We ask Londoners how they feel about phone theft in the capital.

Transcript

00:00Phone snatching, so it's quite a common thing in London, people will drive up on a moped, snatch your phone.

00:05Is that something that's happened to you guys ever? Do you know anyone that's happened to?

00:09No, no.

00:10What do you know about it and how do you kind of feel about it?

00:13Well, it's...

00:15Well, you have to be on your guard, haven't you?

00:17Yeah, yeah, yeah. I find a lot of people are wearing, like, little chains around their wrists.

00:23Our daughter-in-law has one, so when she's talking on the phone, she's got this around her wrist.

00:31And how does that make you feel that people that are in London and also anywhere are having to get that in order to stop it?

00:38Well, it's just the state of the country as it is now, isn't it, really?

00:41Sign of the times.

00:42Sign of the times and...

00:44And it's a shame.

00:45And nobody's not doing enough to stamp it out, it's as simple as that.

00:50I'm definitely very much conscious about it.

00:53And it has happened to quite a few of my friends, unfortunately.

00:56Luckily, it hasn't happened to me yet.

00:58But, yeah, it's definitely something that I'm very, very, like, on edge about now, especially...

01:04But the good thing, I think, because it's winter, so now hopefully it should be a little bit less.

01:09But it is something to still keep in mind.

01:12It hasn't happened to me before.

01:15I don't know anyone that's happened to either, but I'm aware of it.

01:19And I'm always, yeah, pretty worried when I'm using my phone out on the street, for sure.

01:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:24Do you consider, like, ever getting a...

01:27Hand straps now are quite popular for your phone just to keep it on your wrist.

01:31Because a lot of people will get them on, like, mopeds and take them away.

01:34Do you ever consider buying something like that or do you think you should?

01:37Yeah, I don't know if I'd consider buying one of those because this is one of these things you need to carry around.

01:41But, probably, yeah.

01:43I mean, it would be interesting.

01:44It would be interesting, but probably not something I'd buy, yeah.

01:47I think at first I was a bit adamant.

01:49But now, the good thing is because people have made them, like, customisable, so...

01:54They are starting to convince me just a tiny bit, but...

01:57Maybe.